Paul Davis announces campaign economic advisers

WICHITA, Kansas — The Paul Davis gubernatorial campaign toured Kansas Monday unveiling a ‘common sense economic vision for Kansas,’ and announced the appointment of two Kansas businessmen as senior economic advisers to the campaign.

The appointed advisers, former Republican Lieutenant Governor Gary Sherrer and former Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Moore, addressed the crowd at a press conference at Wichita Area Technical College.

Referring to Governor Sam Brownback’s current economic development plan, Gary Sherrer posed the question, “Exactly how many jobs have been promised? What is the measurement? The specific measurement.”

Davis said that Sherrer and Moore share his vision that the state’s economic success should be “rooted in proven methods, not experiments.”

“John and Gary have decades of private sector experience and were highly successful Kansas Secretaries of Commerce,” said Davis.

Paul Davis laid out his economic strategy, if elected Kansas governor, in four parts:

Public Education & Workforce Training

Partnerships (Public/Private Sector Jobs)

Infrastructure

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According to Davis, the first order of business to improve the state of the economy is restore public education funding to pre-recession levels.

“We’ve got to have somebody in the governor’s office that is really going to be a true advocate for public education,” said Davis. “We’ve got to get back to properly funding our public schools so that we can get our economy growing again.”

Davis continued, “Public education has been at the top of my agenda the last 12 years in the Kansas legislature and it will continue to be when I am governor. Strong schools are the very foundation of a strong economy.”

Davis also recommended that the state postpone the second phase of what he calls the ‘Brownback experiment,’ and establish a bipartisan tax commission.

“I will appoint a bipartisan tax commission to address this crisis. The commission will also be made up of members appointed by each leader of the legislature, as well as experts from the private sector,” said Davis.

“Paul Davis has a 12-year record of voting to raise sales taxes, voting to raise income taxes, and voting against property tax relief for hard-working Kansas families and his plan unveiled today is more of the same.”

Davis denies those claims.

“I have a record of cutting taxes in a responsible way and I have voted for tax cut, after tax cut, after tax cut during my tenure in the legislature,” said Davis.

While Davis, along with other Democrats, criticize Brownback’s income tax cuts, the governor says they are a long-term economic solution that will take time before their benefits are realized.